Football

[IceCreamMan]

Arsenal first aide to score a 100!red cards in premiership. 
 

Since Arteta manager most red cards to Arsenal too. 
 

need to sort that out. Gabriel was petulant child. 

[IceCreamMan]

Southampton takeover: Dragan Solak-backed company buys Premier League club https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59866024
 

not happy with this. Would prefer local ownership. 

[RoddieJ]

9 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

Southampton takeover: Dragan Solak-backed company buys Premier League club https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59866024
 

not happy with this. Would prefer local ownership. 

Just read 30mins ago that it was speculated, and then Bam!! Just like that....

Not that I know much about the buyer entity, but it can go both ways... I wish the best to the crowd at St Mary’ 🤞🏽
It seems the Chinese revenue stream is drying up all over in European football these days

Edited January 4, 2022 by RoddieJ

[IceCreamMan]

2 minutes ago, RoddieJ said:

Just read 30mins ago that it was speculated, and then Bam!! Just like that....

Not that I know much about the buyer entity, but it can go both ways... I wish the best to the crowd at St Mary’s 🤞🏽

I would prefer local ownership with an owner attending games and being passionate. We cannot compete with the big money clubs and quite frankly I will not see the club win the premiership in my lifetime. I know this because we are not a glamour club or big enough to challenge the top sides. I also don’t want to see the club deeply in the red to try and achieve that. I take pride in being middle of the road and great relish when we get one over the big clubs. This take over appears to be a business deal…

 

maybe I am a romantic… so long as prices don’t go up and they continue with the social programs run by the club. 

[IceCreamMan]

Off to the game tonight, as a larney in a hospitality suite… beer, food and footie…let’s rock n roll.

and it was cheap as they can’t sell out the game it seems. 

[justinafrika]

1 hour ago, IceCreamMan said:

let’s rock n roll

Like Coldplay?  With tea and biscuits.

Like Don Henley?  Heaps of coke and Jim Beam and one of the two teen girls dead (that happened).

Like Shaun Ryder?  Neck 6 E’s and lose three days.

Like Keith Richards?  Toss the tv off the hospitality suite balcony.

Live footie, wish I was there.

Edited January 11, 2022 by justinafrika

[IceCreamMan]

Was game televised in za? Not televised here but did see cameras etc so assume it was broadcast elsewhere.

And what a game it was. I had a hospitality ticket which were going cheap cos the game was not sold out,,,there are various hospitality suites and prices go up depending on experience… being a thorough CHAV I went cheapest being the Saints Bar. Not to be confused with the Saints pub which is in Milbrook and the scene of some my shenanigans , a real working class pub..I love it.

Anyway, the hospitality was 114 quid, including a seat just of halfway line..much much better than the family stand I normally sit in and it’s padded. Normally pricing for this package is upwards of 180 depending on team coming. 114 bought me 3 drinks, a street food kind of supper, I had roasted beetroot pie thingy and the opportunity to mingle with other folks like myself who took advantage of a cheapie hospitality experience, but I digress. I got there at around 5:30 to make the most of it all.

new owners were in the house, while not fully sold out the crowd were electric, man oh man the anticipation ran high and the crowd were amped. Lots of singing to ward off the chill , although not hugely chilly , and a real carnival atmosphere..kickoff and a quick goal lifted the spirits, we were literally all over them and the crowd were fully behind the team…they equalised but there was a sense that we would win this one and the own goal meant we were 2 1 up at halftime. Went into the hospitality suite and had my 3rd drink , a beer whose name now evades me completely but it’s part of the history of the club.. 

second half and well the crowd carried the team and soon enough we were 4 1 up. Now, I have never been to a saints game where we have scored 4 , I can’t remember when last we scored 4 to be honest, maybe arsenal 4 or 5 years ago. 
 

ref blew final whistle and then magic happened, Bees fans pretty much buggered off but saints fans stayed in the stadium and applauded the players and sang songs for a long while. No organisation, it just happened,,,,a champagne day in the Saints history. I am still buzzing,.

on an aside note, there was a saints player who recently retired , at age 26 due to injury. He came through the academy… fans sang songs in his honour last night at one point. This is the life and blood and ethos of football…like warriors of olde. Money is eroding that. 
 

I will go gain to hospitality when cheap and will certainly go again for an evening game…got home just after midnight. But well worth it. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by IceCreamMan

[RoddieJ]

I’m not sure if the game was shown here coz I no longer have a subscription, but I was following for updates on LiveScore.

And boy, was I surprised with the score line! I was reluctant to bet on the game coz I really felt the two sides would be evenly matched...

Im glad you enjoyed the outing 👌🏽

[justinafrika]

Thanks for the update ICM, what a night!  

And yes, every EPL match is televised live here.  Even on the final day when ten matches kick off simultaneously seven/eight matches are broadcast live with another channel called “goal rush” dedicated to live updates from all ten matches.  At least you have the luxury of live footie, on a few UK visits I’ve simply never managed to nab a ticket.

Edit:  I’ve watched quite a bit of live footie here, including many international matches, and I chose to give up ten years ago.  Doesn’t look like footie at all, resembles ping pong I think.  Acclaimed players here routinely run just over half the distance that players in European leagues run in a match.  Incredibly direspectful towards fans and the sport.

Besides, the last SA player to crack the top 2 500 ranked players-by-value was Steven Pienaar at 84 in 2011.  That makes ten years without an SA player in the top 2 500.  In fact, we’ve spent long periods ranked below Syria, a country that hasn’t even had a stadium for a decade.  

Syria’s last football stadium

 

Shockingly poor stuff from SA.  I’d have no issue if we simply gave up and SAFA stated “That’s it, we just can’t."

Edited January 12, 2022 by justinafrika

[IceCreamMan]

I used to go to games in ZA, soccer city, wits etc. Am an Amazulu supporter in the PSL so went to a game now and again, used to cost me 40 bucks as I remember. 
 

Quality ain’t the same for sure, and even the pitches are sometimes like cabbage patches but it is what it is. SAFa have destroyed football , just looking at the decline from African champions to not even qualifying. At club level some success still in the African tournaments.

 

SAFa used to have fancy opulent offices out on William nichol as I recall, used to drive past and skeem what a tragedy. ( or was it out near bompas road) memory failing. 

[justinafrika]

Remarkable resilience by Gunners after being down to 10 men at just 21 minutes, and at Anfield.  And despite the absence of Partey and Aubamayeng and Elnenny and Tomiyasu and Smith-Rowe and Odegaard.  Shots on target: Liverpool 0 Gunners 1, amazing stat with a man short for 70+ minutes and several frontline players unavailable. 

Plus, those include confirmed covid diagnoses, unlike Liverpool’s 40 (yes exactly FORTY) covid diagnoses last week of which ALL FORTY were found to be false to buy time.

Edit: Last night shows how much ‘pool have relied on Salah and Mané, they were missed.

Edited January 14, 2022 by justinafrika

[IceCreamMan]

Woe is Everton. 

[justinafrika]

24 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

Woe is Everton. 

… and the last two board members still backing Benitez were pressured to change support, wonder who they’re considering?

[IceCreamMan]

Sacked. 
 

m word on the street is Rooney. Think he deserves a shot if he would want it. Done good work at derby I reckon. 

[RoddieJ]

I think Duncan Ferguson would get a stint as interim manager before they commit to a permanent replacement.

But what a turnaround since the really fantastic start that Everton had to this season! 

[IceCreamMan]

2 hours ago, martinjek said:

Guys I Manchester City will be the champion even if Guardiola leaves the coaching they are unbelievable.

Well we hope to humble em tomorrow like we did a while ago. Actually just drove past st Mary’s to catch a ferry. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by IceCreamMan